tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post6036431970900890503..comments2024-02-29T03:57:00.088-05:00Comments on The Mermaid's Tale: The wonder of it allAnne Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-47983389127827936692015-07-22T13:34:50.660-04:002015-07-22T13:34:50.660-04:00Yes, that's right. We don't claim to, nor...Yes, that's right. We don't claim to, nor need to, agree on everything posted here. I can't speak for Anne or Holly, and since I'm no more consistent than anyone else, I probably can't speak for myself, either!Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-88076764349612415022015-07-22T13:11:51.473-04:002015-07-22T13:11:51.473-04:00(Ken uses the editorial 'we' by default.)(Ken uses the editorial 'we' by default.) Anne Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-78078096963231754952015-07-22T12:03:01.420-04:002015-07-22T12:03:01.420-04:00This has no bearing on whether or to what degree I...This has no bearing on whether or to what degree I agree with Ken's Pluto sentiments or otherwise... but "we" has reached a frequency that urges me to inform MT readers that Ken's not including me in "we." Cheers to Ken and all.Holly Dunsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05260104967932801186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-30186393600658064562015-07-21T10:54:33.932-04:002015-07-21T10:54:33.932-04:00I agree about the shuttle and ISS, and I think we&...I agree about the shuttle and ISS, and I think we've posted about that. The research agencies, NIH and NASA, and probably DOD and maybe Ag and to a lesser extent NSF, are not under enough accountability, and universities are acting as if they run on entitlements. That means inefficiency and waste, and I'm not referring to the necessary waste in science, since science at its best is about tough problems for which answers can't just be ordered up, not even by cash. And the spin-doctoring is part of the process.<br /><br />To be fair, it's how our country (and those we influence by being so competitive) runs and science isn't any more guilty of self-promotion than other areas, I think. <br /><br />The Pluto pictures are indeed very impressive and there's no taking away from that. And this was started 9 years ago and I don't remember what relative conditions were like then, in terms of likely new knowledge. But there is a lot of, yes, individual chicken-feed that is nurturing the big agencies, so dismissing each bit of it is one way to miss the overall tab. At the very least, there should be some serious discussion about priorities, about projects too large to end, and so on.<br /><br />And a discussion about where and how the very best actual science is likely to be stimulated.Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-15635430549790800302015-07-21T10:16:46.452-04:002015-07-21T10:16:46.452-04:00I'm reminded. Buddhist temples in Japan often ...I'm reminded. Buddhist temples in Japan often have a glass-fronted bulletin board at their entrance with announcements and the like at the left and a short homily sort of thing at the right: two short clauses with a religious message. Written in Japanese calligraphy, they are, unlike most things written in Japanese calligraphy, actually intended to be read. The other day when I was taking my camera out for a walk, I came across one, and stopped to read it.<br /><br />The moon and stars are beautiful,<br />But so is the spirit that recognizes that beauty.<br /><br />Kewl, this temple's dedicated to the patron saint of photographers, I think to myself. But it's also appropriate for your Pluto series.<br /><br />(FWIW, I don't mind the money spent on unmanned space science. It's chicken feed compared to the hundreds of billions we've wasted on the shuttle and the ISS.)<br />David J. Littleboynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-56333405433208180082015-07-20T13:54:28.640-04:002015-07-20T13:54:28.640-04:00Well, David, we wouldn't expect you to like it...Well, David, we wouldn't expect you to like it. I am sure that Whitman would have been awed by the experience, but I believe still bored by the lectures. Personally, I find the pictures and the possible explanations interesting. The question we have raised is about the hype and the cost relative to other priorities, not the inherent interest.<br /><br />In that context what we have expressed is the view that space ventures are often as much entertainment as they are deep new science, and that therefore they should be supported by the private sector because there are too many serious human needs for public resources to be used. Fortunately, a Russian plutocrat has promised $100M for SETI, the search for ETs. That's how it should be. If that silly venture were somehow to succeed, that would be very interesting, but not something we should pay for until or unless it seems less silly than it currently does (to me). If the entertainment industry, which has the bucks, paid for space ventures, the way entrepreneurs set up public telescopes and other science-entertainments in the past, they could sell tickets or subscriptions for access to the results. Downloadable Plutoscapes and stories would likely, and properly, make a nice profit.Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-25254850350528074662015-07-20T06:13:00.249-04:002015-07-20T06:13:00.249-04:00I've never liked that poem of Whitman's an...I've never liked that poem of Whitman's and I like it less now. <br />I was thrilled to be (along with millions of other people!) among the first to see those high-resolution pictures of Pluto and Charon. I rather hope that Whitman would have been too, if he could have been there. What we can see of the stars with our unaided eyes is beautiful and inspiring, but I want to see more and to know more.David Evanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13590531184544289491noreply@blogger.com